Genshin 4.0 Thoughts

So I finished the Chapter IV Archon Quests (And some of the major World Quests) for 4.0 a while back and like very other long-time Genshin fan whose been playing since it's launch in 2020, it's been a joy just going through the new nation and for the first time in so long I finally felt like I'm having fun in Genshin again. To the point me, someone who will admit never 100% completed any Genshin area or region, 100% COMPLETED THE FONTAINE 4.0 AREA IN A WEEK, it think that says something about how far we've come from the early days.

There will be talk of 4.0 spoilers under the cut so be warned!!

Funny enough, I've never made a post like this since 2021 when Inazuma went live. Mostly for a lot of personal reasons (college courses, moving away from home, etc.) and how i felt about the game post-Inazuma / pre-Sumeru wasn't exactly positive. Plus the initial backlash Sumeru had soured my mood to the point i was just playing through the game just for the sake of it. But that was before the Archon quest finished, and while I'm not going to talk about Sumeru's exploration aspect (no one mention tunnels in the desert to me ever again), The Archon quest was a MASSIVE improvement and showed how the story of Genshin can be good when they take their time. It did make me hope the next region would take a page from how Sumeru handles it's characters. Besides that tangent, So what is it about Fontaine that's making it so fun?

Well for starters, the water exploration is VERY fun. Even without Fontaine characters the atmosphere and just overall game-play feels smooth and easy to control. I found myself mindlessly swimming around just taking it all in. It's probably also why I felt motivated to 100% the area since 4.0's area is small and feasible to do.

Surprising no one, Genshin's soundtrack for Fontaine is fantastic as always. I could pinpoint some songs the 4.0 livestream played but the rest are still beautiful to listen too. Especially the vocals in the underwater tracks or even just the songs that play in Fontaine's countryside.

Staking a page out of Sumeru's Archon Quest, the first two acts of Chapter 4 really set a new high bar. Mostly because they mystery of why the Nation of Justice treats trials like a spectacle plus the the looming threat of the entire nation being flooded and dissolved away with only Focalors remaining makes for a chilling mystery.

As a fan of Ace Attorney (and Danganronpa unfortunately/lh) the trials section are so much fun to play thru. The way we get to piece it all together, granted with not much penalty, felt like we were uncovering a case before our eyes. And hey! the traveler got to talk some more! also shoutout to Paimon's Groucho glasses staying for that 1st half.

Even though Genshin is no strangers to killing off NPC's at this point, something about how the methods of murder are done here feel eerie. From the jumpscare of the Box being crushed with someone inside to the fact PEOPLE IN FONTIANE JUST, DISSOLVE? so there was a Serial Killer going out murdering girls in a way that leaves nothing behind is very scary to think about even with the lack of blood and gore onscreen.

Of course the real stars of the show are the Fontaine characters we have already met. It's nice to finally see Lyney & Lynette after the Teyvat Trailer showed them nearly 3 years ago, and their dynamic is so nice to see (even if Lyney is rizzing us up lmao). I also love the direction they're going with Navia, Clorinde, and even Neuvillette with how they came across from the teasers.

As the 5th Archon we've met, I already love Furina's personality and dynamic she's got with the traveler. We haven't had an Archon whose been an outright rival to us since they've either been helpful to us from the get-go (Venti, Zhongli, & Nahida) or or straight up tried to kill us for exisiting (Raiden Shogun / Ei). Furina not only is committed to acting al high and mighty every chance she gets, but also really seems to want to show off how grand she is. I also love how we get to see a lil' bit into her psyche and how underneath that bravado she's really just scared her people will judge her if she didn't act like a god fit for the land of Justice. which makes me really excited how were going to convince her to devolve info about the traveler's twin.

Less serious but i love that Arlecchino is called the "Father" and is King in her home we love a GNC queen <3. That being said I am a bit excited to how they portray her since the way Lyney and Lynette talk of her is very much rose-colored since she saved them from horrific circumstances and they trust her with their life, but that remains to be seen

But if that's what I think is good, whats some stuff I think could have been better?

Even though the water exploration is fun, I wouldn't say the puzzles and some of the underwater power are balanced. The Bullet Barnacles took me way to long to figure out before i took too much damage and since underwater you done have access to hearing other than specific areas your characters are just dead until you revive them. Plus the Sonar you get from the Seals feels weaker to use then say the Crab or Manta Ray power-ups. Plus the time trials and such are just your normal fair for genshin 'secrets'

The Pneuma and Ousia mechanic for the Meka enemies feels a little janky in combat. Maybe because from the start we only have Lyney & Lynette (and the Hydro Traveler) that can use this system right now make be why, but the targeting on certain Meka enemies looks like they hit them with the correct energy but doesn't stun them. Maybe it'll get better once we have more Fontaine characters but for now it's just another combat mechanic.

This is more of a nitpick, but there's one story moment that has one of the worse timing in Genshin. You've prob seen how people reacted to the Traveler seemingly random hostility towards finding out Lyney & Lynette are Fatui (or at least part of a Fatui household since House of Hearth raises Fatuus Soldiers), and normally that would make sense since they spent an entire trial trying to defend them but that omission of crucial info almost cost them the case. BUT, from the players perspective not only hours before were they JUST friendly to Childe, a Fatui Harbringer that despite being friends they are still wary of and now suddenly is willing to treat him like any old friend now in Fontaine makes it come across as cruel to the twins and weird in context. Why would the traveler, whose a twin themselves, show a lack of compassion two twins that opened their heart about their (surprisingly dark) backstory? It's not a horrible choice but it's definitely a weird writing choice in this instance. Especially since you have to finish Act's I & II to seen Lyney's Story Quest, and the traveler is somehow okay with them now? It's just weirdly timed is all.

I need more Freminet PLEASE I JUST WANNA SEE THE BOY!!

That's pretty much all I got. Hopefully I'm more hopeful of Fontaine's hype to the end, especially with how great Sumeru's story quest went. So we'll just have to wait & see what 4.1 and 4.2 gives us!

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the shogun’s notes. though i do not fully understand what these “tags” entail, my wife has said that it was important to keep them up and visible for any potential visitors who are searching for something specific.

well, i rarely if ever do text post on this blog anymore. Mostly because unsurprisingly after playing the game for over 2 / nearly 3 years I'd get burned out from the game, especially after Inazuma's Archon Quest. Plus the controversies surrounding Sumeru & it's representation (or meshing of it i should say) also initially made me hesitant to even want to play the game.

But that was a year ago, and since Fontaine has finally been released, somehow it reignited some love I have for the game. To the point i have the current Fontaine area to nearly 100% exploration (I've NEVER done this before in Genshin, even Mondstat took me until this year to 100%) and either the combination of underwater exploration or something else Genshin managed to get me back into a game i periodically get burnt out from.

So now that right now the Genshin hype is high right now, I'll prob make first thoughts on 4.0 later on in honor of it! and maybe some other stuff if I'm in the mood lmao